Cooper's 8th Birthday Party...

I always let Anna Lauren and Cooper pick what kind of birthday party they want...something with a few friends, a little trip, or a full out party.  It came as no surprise that Cooper wanted a "traditional" birthday party with as many friends as he could invite.  What kind of party he would have was a quick and easy decision for him...a nerf war!!!

I told Matt and Cooper that we could have a nerf war party but only if they were in charge of figuring out all the bullets, teams, building the forts, etc.  They did pretty good if you ask me...

Cooper chose cupcakes over a cake so we ordered cupcakes and added some nerf toppers...

We ordered orange and blue bandannas and safety glasses so they could divide into two teams...

Just playing around as we were waiting on everyone to arrive...

The grandparents had a front row seat to the watch the war...

They drew orange and blue straws to divide into teams...

The big girls couldn't believe they were lucky enough to get on the same team...

These little twins may be two of the cutest little boys I know...

So many of Cooper's friends came to celebrate with him and it was finally time for war...

These two happen to be brothers but all the "big" kids were so sweet to let the younger kids play with them...

Pretty sure the "referee" fixed many jammed guns...

I am so glad I asked Matt Torres to take pictures for me because every single picture makes me smile...these kids were having SO much fun!!!

It comes as no surprise that Anna Lauren is bossing someone around...

Cooper didn't want to invite any girls to his party.  He changed his mind and said he wanted to invite his sister's friends AND these two little divas!!!

The only picture we have with our Cooper, but my oh my we love him SO much!!!  From school to sports, he keeps us on our toes but through it all, he just makes life so much more fun!!!

He asked Ms. Amanda for a flag that had been flown over the capital...and guess what???  That is exactly what she got him, and he couldn't have been more proud!!!

Just a little pizza break...

This picture sums it all up...BEST.PARTY.EVER!!!

This boy LOVES life and makes it more fun for everyone he is around...this day was his day, and he said he will remember it forever.  Best day with our best boy!!!

Cruise Vacation ~ Day 1...

Exactly two months ago we set out for our cruise vacation that we had given the kids for Christmas.  A cruise is one of our favorite vacations so we had been counting down the days since Christmas.

When Cooper finished playing baseball on Saturday, we came home and packed our suitcases (yes, our life was so crazy busy that we packed the same day we left) and hit the road to Lafayette.  We would drive to Galveston to board the ship the next day.

There was a scary little hiccup that had us wondering if we would even go on vacation.  About an hour and a half into our drive from Lafayette to Galveston Anna Lauren had a seizure in the car.  She was asleep so when Matt first saw her out of the corner of his eye he thought she was dreaming and reacting to her dream.  Oh how we wish it was only a dream...

We managed to get off the interstate, pull into a gas station, and call 911.  Matt and I have never been so scared and honestly had no clue what to do.  Thankfully within 6 minutes the police and ambulance were there who were much calmer than her parents.  We decided there was no way we could leave the country without first making sure she was ok so Anna Lauren and I both had our first rides in an ambulance.

Bless her little heart...when she "woke up" from her seizure and saw the police/paramedics standing over her she was petrified.  She cried and cried, but we finally got her to calm down...

Slowly but surely she was getting back to herself and asked the paramedic no less than 100 questions.  She wanted every step to be explained to her.  

My child who is typically so independent and doesn't want anyone to touch her was so scared that she wanted me in the bed with her in the emergency room...I didn't mind at all because her momma was just as scared.  Meanwhile her daddy went to the bathroom and had himself a little breakdown.

We were in the tiny little town of Beaumont, Texas, and we couldn't have asked for better attention/care.  Within 2 hours we were in and out of the ER with the doctor saying we should go on our cruise.  Yes, we were scared to death, not sure if we should go or not, but we did...

A seizure, an ambulance ride, and a visit to the emergency room, and we still boarded the ship with an hour to spare!!!  Anna Lauren was tired and had a bad headache but other than that she was her normal self.  And that brother of hers, he was just as freaked out as the rest of us.  If you have never seen a seizure, let me tell you...it is scary.

Decorating your cabin door seems to be the new thing so Anna Lauren took care of that while we got all our luggage/stuff situated.

I'm pretty sure I will always cherish this family picture at the "sail away" party.  Several hours before this picture was taken we were thinking there could be something seriously wrong with Anna Lauren and our lives could change forever.  

Not going to lie...Matt and I were so nervous and didn't know what to expect going forward.  Therefore, any time we saw her being "Anna Lauren" we took a little sigh of relief.  

Sail away party, a little swimming, and a hug from Kung Fu Panda on the way to dinner.

Just checking it out on our way to dinner...

After dinner we called it a day...it was a LONG day for everyone.